Fushimi Inari: the torii gates, the tickets and the way up

Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine to which every other Inari shrine is affiliated, and the shrine's own site says there are said to be about 30,000 of them across Japan.^7,8 People have gathered here to pray for bountiful harvests, business prosperity and the safety of home and family since the shrine was established in 711.⁹ That is why you meet shopkeepers and company groups on the path as often as sightseers.

The name Inari comes from the phrase ine ga narimashita, meaning rice has grown, and the deity Inari Okami is thought to dwell in the cedar trees of the mountain.^10,11 The whole of Inariyama counts as part of the shrine, which is why the precinct totals around 870,000 square meters rather than the few courtyards you see from the station.^12,13 Walking uphill here is walking inside a shrine, and that is the right frame of mind.

The colour has a reason too. Vermilion is considered an amulet against evil forces.¹⁴ The stone foxes along the way are messengers of Inari Okami, who is not herself a fox, and the object in a fox's mouth is often a key to a granary.^15,16 Once you know that, the statues stop looking like decoration and start reading as a short story about rice.

The Fushimi Inari shrine entrance fee is the first thing to settle, so here is the plain answer. No ticket is listed for the grounds either. The shrine's own pages and the Kyoto tourism association's pages list no admission charge or ticket for walking the grounds and the mountain. JR West adds that the shrine is never closed to the public, and JNTO says it can be visited at any time of day.^2,39 Money goes on amulets, snacks and the tour you choose, not on a gate.

The one paid item the city itself runs is the guided tour. The Kyoto City guides lead a 60-minute English tour of the shrine, departing at 10 AM and 11:30 AM on days without shrine events, for 4,000 yen per person.^38,40,1 An hour is enough for the buildings and the first stretch of torii, and a guide explains the symbols you would otherwise only photograph.

Companies sell bigger packages around the shrine. The one-day bus tour this site books spends 1 hour at Fushimi Inari Taisha among eight named stops and costs from $97. An early-morning small-group train tour, limited to 8 people, gives 70 minutes here at the start of a six-hour day from $90. For a late hour on the mountain, a 2-hour night walk meets at the fox statue at the main entrance from $41.

Behind the main hall the path divides into two tunnels of gates, the section the shrine calls the Senbon Torii. JNTO describes a row of 1000 scarlet torii along a 4 km path.²¹ The shrine counts around 10,000 torii of all sizes across the whole mountain, while the Kyoto City Tourism Association speaks of over 5000 orange gates behind the shrine; official counts differ, so treat any single number as approximate.^5,34

The Fushimi Inari torii gates are gifts. Worshippers have donated torii since the Edo period, and torii were widely used as offerings by the start of that era.^89,90 Look at the back of the nearest gate and you will see the name of the donor and a date; each gate is a separate gift.

The first major stop is Okusha Hohaisho, also called Okuno-in, in the Myobu-dani valley at the end of the Senbon Torii.²² Behind it are the Omokaruishi lanterns: lift the top of a lantern, and if it feels lighter than you expected your wish will come true.²³ Farther on, at the pond by Kumatakasha, tradition says that clapping echoes back from the direction where a lost person can be found.⁵⁶ Photographers should note that blocking worshippers on narrow paths is prohibited.⁹¹